BOOM Goes the Bad Big Bang

Atheists are people who believe that there is no God. But if there is no God, where did the Universe come from? How did we get here? Many atheists believe that everything in the entire Universe used to be squished into a very, very tiny, dense, hot ball, about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. They think that billions of years ago, that ball—the “cosmic egg” or “ylem”—exploded in what is called the “Big Bang.” So everything in the Universe has been flying away from that place where the little ball exploded since then, according to atheists. But when we look at the evidence from science, we discover that there are major problems with this idea.

First, the Big Bang Theory predicts that everything in the Universe—all the planets, stars, etc.—should be expanding away from each other over time, in the same way that stuff flies apart after an explosion. The problem is that American astrophysicist Halton Arp has discovered several examples of galaxies that are not doing what they should be doing if the Big Bang Theory is true. Many atheists do not want to think about Arp’s discoveries, since his discoveries show that the Big Bang Theory is not true and means that astronomers should completely change the way they view the Universe. So, Arp is known to some atheists as “the most feared astronomer on Earth.”

Second, the Law of Causality (or the Law of Cause and Effect) is a very important law of nature. It says that every effect in the Universe must have something that caused it. That cause has to be powerful enough to make the effect, and it has to come before or at the same time as the effect. Without the existence of this law, there would be no such thing as studying science, since science involves trying to find out what will tend to happen (effects) every time you do certain things (causes). The problem is that the Big Bang does not give us a cause. It is an effect without a cause. To believe in such an idea would be unscientific, since it goes against the evidence from science. The Universe and its behavior are effects that need a cause, and the Big Bang cannot give that cause. The only way to explain the effect of this Universe is to realize that there must be Someone above this Universe that caused it. According to the Bible, that “someone” is God.

And then there’s the fact that even if the Universe was originally squeezed into a tiny ball, the Big Bang still doesn’t explain where that little ball could have come from. There are only two possibilities—either no one put the Universe here, or Someone put it here. If no one put it here, which is what the atheist believes, then it either had to create itself—it just popped into existence out of nothing (this is called “spontaneous generation”); or it had to exist forever (this is called “eternal”). But once again, the evidence from science speaks against these two options.

The 1st Law of Thermodynamics says that if something happens in the Universe (like wood burning up or the tiny “ylem” popping into existence), the amount of “energy” in the Universe before and after it must be the same. The energy can change into other forms (like wood changing into smoke, ash, heat, and light as it burns), but the Universe still has the same amount of energy. This means that according to the evidence from science, the Universe could not have created itself. The amount of energy in the Universe before the tiny ball existed (which would be zero energy) must equal the same amount of energy in the Universe after it came into existence (which would be all the energy in the Universe). According to the 1st Law of Thermodynamics, that cannot happen. The only way the Universe could change from zero energy to all the energy we have now is if Someone outside of the Universe put that energy here.

The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics says that even though the amount of energy in the Universe stays the same when something happens, some of that energy has become less “usable” along the way. In other words, you can’t use it as easily. When wood burns, you are left with basically a pile of ash, which is less usable. So the Universe is wearing out—getting old and decaying. This means that the Universe could not have existed forever, or else we would be out of usable energy—everything would be completely worn out. But we have lots of usable energy! If the Universe is not eternal and could not have popped into existence, then Someone outside of the Universe must have created it. That Someone is God.

The Law of Rationality says that we have to follow the evidence wherever it leads us. The evidence from science says that the Big Bang Theory is impossible. Someone had to create the Universe. It cannot be the result of a big explosion. According to the first verse of the Bible, God created the Universe.

*Please keep in mind that Discovery articles are written for 3rd-6th graders.

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